PROTECT IP Act

Online publishers large and small went dark yesterday to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act currently pending in Congress. Declared the “Web Goes on Strike” day by Fight for the Future, sites such as Wikipedia and hyperlocal city directories like City View have gone entirely dark. Google placed a black banner over its logo and included a link “Tell Congress: Please don’t censor the web.”

Two new bills in Congress designed to combat rogue sites selling counterfeit goods or distributing copyright-infringing content (like movies) may put a squeeze on hyperlocal news sites, strangle innovation, and impede free speech and investment in start-ups, according to experts at Stanford University and the Electronic Frontier Foundation.